Jury says drunken Route 3 crash was not murder

Patrick Byrne found innocent of second-degree murder, but faces at least 5 years in prison for the May 2006 crash

Patrick J. Byrne was convicted of vehicular manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide, but a jury did not find him guilty of the second-degree murder of Melissa Leminen.

Byrne was on trial in Brockton Superior Court, following a deadly Route 3 crash in May 2006 that killed the 26-year-old Weymouth woman and severely injured her cousin, Theresa Leminen, also of Weymouth.

In addition to manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide, the jury on Monday found Byrne guilty of drunken driving, his fourth offense, and causing serious injury by drunken driving.

Byrne will spend at least five years in prison, the mandatory minimum sentence for manslaughter, and could face 20 years behind bars, said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

Cruz said his office will push for “significantly more than a five-year sentence” for Byrne, in light of his actions.

The crash occurred after a daylong bachelor party, when a heavily intoxicated Byrne drove the wrong way onto Route 3 in Rockland, smashing into Leminen's car.

Byrne got behind the wheel after his friends and relatives spent an hour trying to keep him from driving.

The 57-year-old former Department of Defense employee from Woburn, who has been in police custody since the crash, will remain at the Plymouth House of Corrections until his Dec. 10 sentencing.

The victim's father, Thomas Leminen, declined to comment until after sentencing.

“I don't have anything to say right now. I'm just filled with so much anger,” he said. “He's going to lose five to 10 years of his life. My daughter lost her whole life.”

Fatal drunken-driving crashes usually result in charges of vehicular homicide or manslaughter.

Cruz for the first time sought a second-degree murder charge, which carries a minimum 15-year sentence, because it was Byrne's fourth drunken driving arrest and because his friends and relatives begged him not to get behind the wheel.

First Assistant District Attorney Frank Middleton Jr., who prosecuted the case, was unavailable for comment following the verdict.

Cruz stood by his decision to charge Byrne with murder.

“I certainly accept the decision,” Cruz said following the verdict. “But it's really a statement that we're tired of ... repeat drunk drivers getting a slap on the wrist.”

“I think we were right to pursue this,” he said, “and if another fact pattern comes up that meets this criteria, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.”

During the nine-day trial, Byrne's defense did not dispute that he was drunk nor did he deny driving on the wrong side of the highway.

Instead, attorney Jack Cunha argued that the crash should not be considered murder, since Byrne was too drunk to know he was about to cause an accident.

Cunha also argued that Leminen, an aspiring nurse, could have avoided the accident, but was speeding and intoxicated, according to a toxicology report.

After nearly two full days of deliberation, interrupted by the Thanksgiving holiday, the jury agreed with Cunha and refused to convict Byrne of murder.

Following the verdict and a short meeting with Byrne's family, a smiling Cunha declined to comment until after the sentencing.